Motor-vehicle.



J. D. ALLEN & J. A. GONLY.

MOTOR VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED APR.26, 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Patented Oct. 13, 1908;

wih eooeo attouwu J. D. ALLEN & J. A. OONLY. MOTOR VEHICLE. APPLIOATION FILED APR. 2a, 1906.

901,055. Patented Oct. 13, 1908.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

gnucnl'oz JZ/en and Q/vihwooea i v C 1 i y I I attouwug J. D. ALLEN & J. A. 'GONLY.

MOTOR VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 26, 1906.

901,055. Patented 01;.'13,190s.

3 BHEBTSSHEET 3.

IIIII lllll Illllll lvi l'n eases NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN D. ALLEN AND JOHN A. own, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

I MOTOR-VEHICLE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 051;. 13, 1908.

Application filed April 2c, 1906. Serial No. 313,776.

vTo all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN D. ALLEN and JoHN A. CoNLY, citizens of the United States, residing :at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and Stateof Pennsylvama, have Invented certain new'and useful Improvements in Motor-Vehicles, of

which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in motor. vehicles, the obyect being to produce a motor vehicle in which the transmission of power between the motor and the differential gear on, the rear axle is accom lished ina more advantageous manner than eretofore in which the differential gear is controlled from the steeringthe power, speed and direction-controlling means, as desired. a

The construct ons and arrangements comprising our invention, as well as the advan- I. tages gained thereby,'will more fully appear from theaccompanyingdrawings, m which,

Figure 1 is a lan view of the running gear f inately' clutched to lnterme late shaft 13 by of an automobi e equipped with our improvements; Fig. 1s a horizontal section through the dlfferentlal and transmission gearing;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section through the steeringpost, showing, alsoin section, the air-va1ves for the differentialclutches; Fig. 4 is a vert1cal section through one of thediflerential clutches and its operating means taken on the l1ne aa, of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a detailed view of the clutch for the eccentric whichdrives the air-compressor. Fig.6 is a vertical section through the driving gears for thedifierential taken on the line 0+0 of Fig. 2

- and Fig. 7 is a cross-section on line 7--7 of Fig. 2, showing the pawl and-ratchet connectlon between the gear 16 and the shaft 13.

Referring now to Fig. 1, 1.represents the frame of the ,jrunning-gear, 2 the front wheels and 3 the rear wheels of amotorvehicle. v

4 represents thesteering-post but the mechanlsm connecting the same with the front wheels is not shown as it may be of any .of the usual constructions.

5 represents the driving sprocket of the motor, which may be actuated by any motivepower, and 6 the sprocket-chain which communicates the power to the transmission gearing by the sprocket-wheel 7. The motor may, of course, be directly connected.

The transmission-gearing, as also the differential-gear, is inclosed in a casing 8,

which is swung upon the rear axle, or rather upon .the differential sleeve 20, which surrounds the inner ends of the rear axles, and consists of the primary shaft 9, carrying keyed thereto the drivin pinions 10, Hand 12, the intermediate shafit 13, carrying loose thereon the gears 14 and 15, and the over runnin gear 16, and having secured thereto the pinlons 17 and'18, the said pinions 10, 11

and 12 meshing respectively with said gears 16, 1'5 and 14. The pinion 18 meshes with the gear 19 loosely mounted on the difl'erential sleeve 20, while the pinion 17 meshes, through an intermediate gear 2 1, with the gear 22, also loose on the sleeve 20.

The gears '19 and 22 are adapted to be alternately clutched to the sleeve 20 by a slidin clutch sleeve23, keyed to the sleeve 20', and havin friction-surfaces 24, co-acting with like sur aces on gear 22', which is the reversin -gear, and teeth 25, coacting with like teet on ear19, which is the gear used in the forwar drive.

Gears 14 and 15 are ada ted to'be alterthe sliding friction-clutch sleeve 26, while gear 16. has a pawl-and-ratchet connection with said shaft, the same comprising a pawl 9Q seated in a recess in the hub of said gear and pressed towards the ratchet 91, fast on said shaft, by a spring 92, as shown in Fig. f7, whereby said 13 is driven by either pinion 11 or 12, but is ear runs idly when shaft driven by pinion 10 when both gears 14 and 15 are unclutched. This pawI-and-ratchet,

or over-running connectionis of ordinary and well-known construction. It will now be evident that the shaft 13 may be driven from shaft 9, either through pinion 10 and gear 16, or pinion 11 and gear '15 or pinion 12 and gear 14, and that sleeve 20 may be driven from shaft 13, either by. pinion 18 and gear 19 or pinion 17, intermediate gear 21 and gear 22. Each section 27 of the divided rear axle carries a fixed clutch member 28 adapted to engage with a sliding clutch member 29 mounted on sleeve 20. These clutches are kept normally in engagement by springs 30, surrounding the reduced ends 31 of the axle sections, which. carry nuts 32 on their ends, and bearing against slidable bushings 33, to which are secured, by means of set screws 34, passed through slots in sleeve 20, the clutch-members 29.

When the vehicle is traveling in a straight line, both clutches are, of course, in engagement, but when the steering wheel is turned to take the vehicle around a curve for instance, the clutch on the inner side is automatically disengaged, the, clutch-member 29 being slid on the sleeve 20 by the-following mechanism, see Fig. 4.

A lever 34, pivoted at 35 in the casing 8, and carrying a yoke 36, engaging the groove 37 in the clutch-member 29, is articulated at its other end to the piston rod 38 of an aircylinder 39, preferably of the diaphragm type. A spring 40, surrounding the rod 38, assists the spring 30 in normally keeping the clutch-members in engagement, but when compressed air is admitted-to the other side of the diaphragm the spring 40 is compressed and the rod 38 moved outwardly to disengage the clutch. The control of the air to these air-cylinders is, as before stated, by the steering gear, and the means illustrated for accomplishing this comprises a cam '41 on the steering-post and the air-valves 42, see Fig. 3. It should first be stated, however, that the supply of air under pressure is maintained by a pump 50, driven by an eccentric 51 on shaft 9, and connected to a tank or reservoir 52, from which pipes 53 lead to said valves 42. The eccentric 51 is automatically unclutched from shaft 9 when the pressure in the tank reaches a certain amount, by means of a diaphragm chamber 54, see Fig. 5, the diaphragm of which is connected to a yoke 55, engaging the sliding clutch member 56, which is normally held in engagement with the clutch member 57, on

the eccentric 51, by a spring 58. Air is admitted to the chamber 54 from the tank through a reducing valve 59. The air-valves 42 being alike a description of one of them will be sufiicient.

The air from the tank 52 is supplied to the valve by a pipe 53, as above stated, and a pipe 43 leads from the valve to the diaphragm air-cylinder 39. The casing of the valve. between the said two pipes, carries a conical valve-seat 44, against which the conu-al valve 45 normally bears, being pressed thereagainst by a spring 46, surrounding its stem outside of the casing. The valve 45 is raised from its seat, when the steering wheel is turned, by means of the cam 41 acting on the lever 47, which adjustably engages the valve-stem. The, air then flows past said valve into the enlarged chamber 48, of the valve casing and thence through the pipe 43 to the diaphragm cylinder. The end of said chamber has an exhaust opening which is closed by the valve 49 carried by the stem of valve 45, when the latter is raised from its seat. A spring may be used, as shown, to assist in seating said valve 49.

The means for actuating the clutch 26 on the intermediate shaft 13, may be fluid-operated by pneumatic motors similar to those for actuating the clutch-members 29, but, as here shown, is mechanically operated, the construction comprising a rod 60, mounted to slide within the bore of the said shaft and connected, as by pins, to the clutch 26. Said rod is headed at its outer end, and engages an annular recess in the head of a worm or screw 61, with which meshes a nut 62 maintained from longitudinal movement by ongagement with a bracket or projectionf 63 carried by the vehicle frame. Said nut carries an arm 64 provided with a crank pin 65, connected with a hand-lever (not shown), whereby said nut can be rotated and, consequently, said rod 60 be moved longitudinally to shift the clutch 26 into engagement with either gear 14 or 15, or into an intermediate position.

In addition to actuating the differential clutches by compressed air, the brakes may be also so actuated, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1. A diaphragm chamber is connected by its piston-rod to a rock-shaft 81, which carries at its ends arms 82, connected by links 83 to the brake-sleeves 84. The control of the air to the diaphragm chamber 80 is, of course, by a manually-operated valve arranged in convenient relation to the steering wheel.

What we claim is 1. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the frame thereof and the rear wheels journaled on said frame, of a divided driving shaft for said wheels, comprising a hollow central section having two gears loose thereon, a clutch movable to connect either gear thereto, and, clutch members slidably mounted at either end thereof;and two end sections, the reduced inner ends of which are journaled in the ends of said hollow central section, each end section carrying a fixed clutch member coiiperating with the corresponding slidable clutch member on the adjacent end of said central section, and means to actuate said slidable clutch members.

2. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the frame thereof and the rear wheels journaled on said frame, of a divided driving shaft for said wheels, comprising a hollow-central section having two gears loose thereon, a clutch movable to connect either gear thereto, and clutch-members slidably mounted at either end thereof, and two end sections, each having its inner end reduced in diameter, journaled in the adjacent end of said hollow central section and held therein hollow, central section and carrying a fixed clutch-member secured thereto in position to cooperate with the adjacent slidable clutch:

member on the said hollow central section,

and means controlled by the steering-post to actuate said clutches.

3. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the frame thereof and the rear wheels journaled on said frame, of a divided driving-shaft for said wheels, comprising a hollow-central section having two gears loose thereon, a clutch movable to connect either gear thereto, and clutch members slidably mounted at either end thereof, and two end sections each journaled in the end of said clutch member cooperating with the adjacent one of said slidable clutch-members, a pneumatic motor operatively connected to each of said slidable clutch-members, a source of air-pressure and connections therefrom to each of said motors including a valve, and means controlled by the movements of the steering-post to actuate'said valves.

4. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the rear wheels, of a driving-shaft for said wheels comprising two end sections and a central section, clutches to connect said central section to said end-sections, means to drive said central section in either direction, a source of air supply, pneumatic-motors operatively connected to each of said firstmentioned clutches, connections between said source of air-supply and each of said motors, including a valve and means carried by the steering-post to admit air to one or the other of said motors accordin to the direction in which thesteering-post 1s turned.

5. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the rear wheels thereof, of a drivingshaft for the same, comprising a central section and two end-sections, two .gears loosely mounted on said central-section and a clutch to connect either of them thereto, fixed clutch-members on the inner ends of said end-sections and cooperating slidable clutchmembers on the outer ends of said central,- section, a pneumatic motor operatively connected to each of said slidable clutch-members, means to drive said gears, comprising a primary shaft running at a uniform speed and an intermediate shaft driven therefrom through change gearing and carrying pinions in mesh with said gears, an air-compressor and means on said primary shaft to drive the same, an air-reservoir connected to said compressor and to each of said motors, a valve for each of said motors and means carried by the steering-post to actuate one of said valves when the steering post is turned in one direction and the other when it is turned in the other direction.

In testimony whereof we have afiixed our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN D; ALLEN. JOHN A. coNLY. 

